Season 2, Episode 20
Original air date: June 29, 1989
Star date: 42901.3

Mission summary

Worf “Iceman” son of Mogh keeps winning at the weekly poker games, which is a sophisticated way of letting you know the episode’s going to be about him. Before he can clean out the bridge crew completely, however, someone pages Riker about some kind of Starfleet emergency. (Yeah, sure. I bet Riker has a panic button under that table.) Picard can’t get any answers out of Starfleet Command, but they do know that a “special emissary” stuffed in a class 8 probe will be arriving shortly to debrief them.

On schedule, a coffin-sized capsule beams aboard containing one lovely looking Klingon named K’Ehleyr. Riker greets her in Klingon but her English is impeccable. Pulaski is confused by her weird bio-readings (and her sense of humor!) and K’Ehleyr explains that she’s only half-Klingon; her mother was human. She makes her introductions pleasantly until she comes to Worf. They seem to know each other…

She explains that a Klingon ship, the T’Ong, is about to awaken from its cryosleep after 75 years. The Klingons aboard went to sleep when the Empire and the Federation were still at war, and they’re going to wake up near some Federation colonies (and easy targets). A Klingon ship is on its way to rendezvous but it’s two days behind the Enterprise, so it’s up to our heroes to try to negotiate or destroy the ship before the Klingoncicles can cause massive civilian casualties. Picard assigns Worf as her special liaison despite his protests, another sign that some things, like management, will always be the same.

K’Ehleyr is no hurry, though, and bonds a little with the ship’s other halfsie–Deanna Troi. They talk about being trapped between worlds and the complications of having mixed parentage.

K’EHLEYR: Sometimes I feel there’s a monster inside of me, fighting to get out.
TROI: And it frightens you.
K’EHLEYR: Of course it does. My Klingon side can be terrifying, even to me.
TROI: It gives you strength. It’s a part of you.
K’EHLEYR: That doesn’t mean I have to like it.

She changes into a red catsuit, to better work in, and joins Worf in the laboratory. This doesn’t go so well:

K’EHLEYR: You’re not even looking at me.
WORF: I am familiar with your appearance.

They seem to have broken up six years ago, but can’t even talk about work without getting into a shouting match. Eventually she storms out and smashes some stuff in her room to release the anger, to Prove She’s Klingon. Troi suggests taking it out on the holodeck, so K’Ehleyr heads over there and pulls up Worf’s “calisthenics” regimen and starts beating up Skeletors. Worf is in a tizzy after their fight as well and can’t seem to cope with simple bridge orders. He heads to the holodeck, too, and seeing his sexy ex-girlfriend saving He-Man seems to do something to him. They fight some more, then sniff each other, then do a little masochism tango and it all fades to black for classic make-up sex.

Post-workout they confess to wishing they had done that earlier, but Worf is mulling something else over in his mind. He begins the Oath.

K’EHLEYR: I’m not going to become your wife!
WORF: You already are.
K’EHLEYR: Don’t give me that Klingon nonsense.
WORF: You would dishonor our sacred traditions?
K’EHLEYR: They’re not sacred. They’re absurd! Marrying you is out of the question for a million reasons.
WORF: None of which stopped you earlier.
K’EHLEYR: Worf, it was what it was. Glorious and wonderful and all that, but it doesn’t mean anything.
WORF: That is a human attitude.
K’EHLEYR: I am human!
WORF: You are also Klingon!
K’EHLEYR: So that means we should bond for life?
WORF: It is our way!
K’EHLEYR: Yours, not mine!
WORF: tlhIngan jIH!
K’EHLEYR: I will not take the oath!

Who knew there were Klingon third-wave feminists?

But there’s a bigger problem–the Enterprise didn’t find those Klingons before they woke up and if they try to merely disable the ship the Klingons will blow themselves up out of a sense of honor. Everyone heads to the bridge and the Klingons begin to fire on the Enterprise, then cloak. La Forge can chase them around despite their obsolete cloaking technology, but that doesn’t give a hint of how they can resolve this without anyone dying. That is, until Worf has an idea.

He and K’Ehleyr dress up like Klingons and take the captain’s and first officer’s chairs. They hail the Klingons and harangue them for firing on their ship. The T’Ong is a little skeptical but ultimately relents to “Captain Worf,” who greets them to the 24th century. Another job well done.

K’Ehleyr goes to beam aboard the T’Ong and bring them up to speed, but Worf intercepts in the transporter room. He tells O’Brien to go for a coffee break so he can say goodbye.

K’EHLEYR: I hid the truth from you. Last night did have meaning. I was tempted to take the oath with you, but it scared me. I’ve never had such strong feelings toward anyone.
WORF: Nor have I.
K’EHLEYR: Then it was more than just a point of honour. Maybe someday, when our paths cross again, I won’t be as easy to get rid of.
WORF: K’Ehleyr. I will not be complete without you.

Next week, on Days of Our Space Lives…

Analysis

First thing’s first: this episode has, hands-down, the absolute worst music of any episode so far in this series. These cues weren’t worthy of an ironic YouTube video. I just had to get that out of the way, because damn.

Now on to the good stuff. It’s amazing what this show can do with women if it’s a) preparing to fridge them; and b) willing to throw its men under the bus. Suzie Plakson’s K’Ehleyr is a revelation–sexy, confident, funny! She has a personality and, in stark contrast to last week’s Lwaxana Troi, her choices aren’t defined by other people’s perceptions. She also passes the Bechdel test by talking about the difficulties of mixed parentage with Deanna Troi. Was that… actual counseling? Anyway, it’s interesting and refreshing to see a Klingon who doesn’t dogmatically revere Klingon values. She obviously knows and respects the culture, but doesn’t have a lot of patience with the grunty hegemony and is willing to carve an unpopular path. This winds up being Worf in a few years, and I enjoyed that irony. Tragically, she’s doomed and anything you may have liked about her becomes fodder for crappy show reorganization next season. I have to confess that I hold grudges and I just can’t get over my resentment towards her because she’s responsible for Alexander, who I absolutely loathe. (I did create the tag “horrible horrible children,” so your mileage may vary.) For now, though, she’s vibrant and surprising and overall a lot more fun than anyone else on this ship, which is why they’re going to get rid of her as soon as possible.

K’Ehleyr’s only here in the first place because they wanted to tell a story about how stodgy and out-of-time Worf is (and boy is he!). We’ve had some peeks at Worf in the series so far, like his coming of age and his creepy fantasies, but this is our first full-fledged Worfathon, and it’s not a very flattering portrayal. I used to think K’Ehleyr was this wacky, on-the-fringe free-love Klingon, but on re-watch it’s clearly Worf that’s out of bounds with authentic Klingon culture. When Riker hangs out with the Klingons, the women aboard are more than happy to knock boots without an oath. Maybe it’s just narrative inconsistency? But it seems like Worf’s understanding of Klingon rites and honors is absurdly outdated and off-base. Everything he thinks he knows he’s basically learned from the internet. He’s got this cryptoconservative thing going on, clinging desperately to values that seem entirely irrelevant to modern culture. I feel sorry for him until he acts like an immature twit (the silent treatment? Really, Worf?) and then tries to slut-shame K’Ehleyr into a a marriage neither of them really want. Your hero, ladies and gentlemen! I have to remind myself that this is just the beginning. That Worf being a twerp is temporary, and as he becomes more familiar with his own history and his own culture he does mellow out a lot and learn to embrace the idiosyncrasies and not just the ideals. But as of now, he’s a much less charming Don Quixote, tilting at windmills.

As far as the A-plot with the Klingoncicles, it seems improbable that the Klingons wouldn’t have gone through their catalog of known cryoships to pick these guys up years ago. Presumably the T’Ong had no idea it would be out for that long. Are they really going to adjust or just commit ritual suicide? And the resolution didn’t work for me at all. Worf’s plan looked stupid and desperate, not clever. The bridge is full of Starfleet uniforms–wouldn’t you just assume that the two Klingons (well, one and a half Klingons) were prisoners put up to this? And what are the bunch of T’Ongies going to do when they find out K’Ehleyr is half-human? Picard sends her ALONE to a potential lynching? I don’t think anyone thought about these implications.

Speaking of, I can’t believe they had sex on the holodeck. Imagine if you were the guy who booked it after them, or just had to clean it up…

Overall, solid. Fantastic Suzie Plakson, crappy Worf (but Michael Dorn turns in as good a performance as you’re going to get with this stuff), mediocre A-plot. We’re almost there!

Torie’s Rating: Warp 4 (on a scale of 1-6)

Thread Alert: The red catsuit with awesome boots, shoulderpads, and metal armwarmers? The other red catsuit she has holosex in? The shapeless Romulan footie pajamas with crotch arrow?! Don’t make me choose!

Best Line: WORF: We are mated.
K’EHLEYR: Yes, I know! I was there!

Trivia/Other Notes: Robin Curtis was originally offered the role of K’Ehleyr but had other commitments. Ultimately Suzie Plakson was cast based on the strength of her appearance as Dr. Selar in “The Schizoid Man.” Tracy Tormé intended for Selar to be Worf’s love interest and thought making her a Klingon was too ordinary–yet another reason he left the show.

Cliff Bole came up with the kinky nail-gouging on set. He swears it just came to him, why are you all looking at him like that?!

About Torie Atkinson

30 Comments

1.DemetriosX

Posted November 8, 2012 at 9:06 AM

All in all, a nice solid episode. The MacGuffin is a little weak, but it helps to establish the whole “Worf is stuck in Klingon Leave It to Beaver ideals” thing. There’s also a sense that Worf isn’t really all that comfortable with what he thinks he’s supposed to be, which isn’t surprising since he was raised by a little old Jewish coupled in the heart of the Federation. His philosophical goals, adopted mostly because he thinks he ought to in order to get in touch with his heritage, are in conflict with his emotional upbringing, his everyday life, his friends, and even reality. It will take him a long time to figure that out and adapt to it.

I didn’t really have a problem with the solution. They could keep the camera closely focused on the captain’s chair, keeping the Klingons from seeing any of the Starfleet uniforms. K’Ehleyr ought to be able to hold her own with these guys for a couple of days until the Klingon ship gets there.

Other signs that things are getting better come from Troi. Not only does she do some actual counseling, but that bit where K’Ehleyr snarks at her about her empathic powers telling her that K’Ehleyr is upset and Troi says “Well, that and the table” shows that she’s starting to be able to laugh at herself. Getting Troi away from “I sense hostility” when the alien ship is firing at them is only for the good and being able to laugh about it really helps.

The worst thing about this episode is that it sets up Alexander. Everyone loathes Alexander, it’s not just Torie. Alexander is horrible and Worf is a terrible father (you guys should start thinking about the tag for that now; it will get a lot of use).

Whew. This episode was practically a revelation after the last few episodes. I had forgotten a lot about this, especially how great Suzie Plakson is as K’Ehleyr–her character is a startling contrast to the more abrasive, less charming B’Elanna Torres on Star Trek: Voyager, though even she grew on me.

I didn’t pay much attention to the music, so I’ll trust Torie’s assessment of it, but I thought the dialogue was excellent throughout and the characters all had a strong, fun dynamic from the teaser all the way to the end. The A and B plots meshed nicely, and the conflicts–personal and political–were engaging enough. The pacing was mostly solid and I actually liked the resolution. I remembered it differently though: I expected them to set up Worf and K’Ehleyr on the Battle Bridge, which is much darker and could have been reconfigured to make it look more Klingon. There probably were several more unexplored options, but this one worked well enough for me, and it’s one of the rare instances when Worf’s recommendation isn’t flat out dismissed.

As for Worf’s behavior, I think it makes sense that he’s overcompensating for his human upbringing by trying to be extra Klingon, and it’s great that K’Ehleyr calls him on his absurdity. Because we likely aren’t meant to assume that he’s in the right here, it’s unexpected to see one of our main characters demonstrate a deep, personal flaw that he will wrestle with through two series and partially overcome. He certainly loosens up over the mating=marriage thing, anyway.

I could have done without the directly stated comparison of how K’Ehleyr and Deanna grew up in two worlds; it would have been more interesting to delve into how Worf also grew up in two worlds because he was adopted by a human family. The two of them have a lot more in common than not. Not that I approve of his later relationships, but it’s interesting that Worf ends up with (spoiler) Deanna later in TNG, and then Jadzia Dax on DS9, another woman who struggles with her identity and upbringing. Plenty of emotional baggage to go around.

Warp 4.

3.DeepThought

Posted November 8, 2012 at 10:44 AM

I like Torie’s analysis here, but I’m not sure the episode has enough subtlety to benefit from me adding anything further. (Which I suppose is a fancy way of saying “I don’t have a whole lot to say about this”). But subtlety is not the same as depth; the episode has depth, it’s just also clear enough that you don’t have to use sounding-wire to figure out what’s below the surface.

Where I think this really shines is exactly where I think the exercise of The Viewscreen as a whole really shines: taking something that was produced as a disconnected episode for syndication and situating it in the context of the larger work going on around it. A lot of interesting-if-possibly-unintended ideas and implications arise when you do this. For instance, I’m not sure I’d credit the show with Worf’s attitude being out of touch with that of the more sexually adventuresome Klingon womenfolk we have seen & will yet see; I just think that picking up on that adds a richness to Worf’s character that transcends authorial intention. His exaggerated conservatism, his out-of-touchness with the rest of Klingon culture — these are actually emergent properties of a collective storytelling process, which makes them somehow more organic and more convincing than even an intentional character arc. It’s like animation, or a flip-book: we see the different images and our minds fill in the motion to make it come alive.

So, yay The Viewscreen for having that ability to create the hidden richness in the story!

4.bobsandiego

Posted November 8, 2012 at 11:29 AM

ah an episode I truly enjoyed. Yes the resoultion of the sleeper ship is a tad simple, but the real story is the realtioship between Worf and K’EHLEYR, and that is what I really enjoyed. Having dropped out of watching the series before the Worf/Troi shipping and all the stuff with Alexander, I didn’t have trepidation about future bungles, but simply enjoyed the episode for what it was.
A note about the poker game, it does more than set up who’s the central character, it also srts up the character arc for Worf. From the poker game we get Worf’s notion that Klingons do not bluff, and worf is a stick in the mud insisting that he is wholyy and 100% Klingon. K’EHLEYR come aboard and shakes up his self image and when it comes time to save the day Worf does it by thinking outside of the Klingon box and running a bluff.
Overall I’m happy except that she left and really liked her. K’EHLEYR is the kind fo interesting competent females character I love to see.

5.S. Hutson Blount

Posted November 8, 2012 at 1:31 PM

I’m glad you referenced the Blue Stripe thing, or I would be forced to.

This is also the reappearance of the venerable D-7 model in TNG, included here as a woefully obsolete relic, but apparently Klingon Deep Space Fleet Command had a reconsideration on the virtues of old hulls, because they started popping up all over the place to save special effects money.

6.DeepThought

Posted November 8, 2012 at 1:48 PM

@S. Hutson Blount #5
Hey man, after the whole Praxis thing, the Empire had to start to economize due to budgetary constraints. Old vessels were retrofitted and recommissioned, old designs were put back into active production instead of the larger models popular in the Federation…

One question I had about suspicion from the Kilngon Dead-Enders: shouldn’t they have, like, visual on the ship? Wouldn’t they notice that the Enterprise looks rather suspiciously like the Federation vessels they’d been shooting at before they took their vac-pack nap? But somehow it has a Klingon captain and first mate* whose uniforms are totally aesthetically disjointed from the ship’s decor — I’d call shenanigans. Unless, due to budgetary constraints, the Klingons frequently refitted captured enemy ships for use in their own fleets… I guess…?

*(see what I did there?)

7.Lemnoc

Posted November 8, 2012 at 2:04 PM

I remarked on The Schizoid Man thread about what an excellent actress Suzie Plakson appears to be, where she instantly and in only a few moments of screen time captures the Vulcan id in a way few others have—curiosity and inner amusement, rather than the seething volcano of repressed emotion. Here, she creates the only appealing Klingon we’ll ever see—wry and skeptical of her own racial tropes. In fact, the worst part of this episode for me is that when they exchanged Plakson’s prosthetic ears for a prosthetic forehead, it precluded the chance we’d ever get to see her again as Selar.

My main complaint about this episode is it seems remarkably padded. That opening “recovery operation” of her pod seemed to go on forever at the expense of other things the episode might have attempted to do.

I don’t know if I would call the McGuffin an “A plot.” It hardly seems a plot at all, but merely a contrivance to move the B plot along. There’s hardly anything there, and it is—as others have noted—simplistically resolved.

The kinds of internal political intrigue w/in the Empire that have been explored so far and will be explored in greater detail in the future—in essence the whole Orthodox versus Reformed attitudes symbolized in the relationship of Worf and K’Ehleyr—would have been better suited to the talents and ambassadorial interests of K’Ehleyr. Active Klingons reacting and responding to one another, rather than passive Klingsicles. And would have made a more complex and interesting episode.

8.Lemnoc

Posted November 8, 2012 at 2:28 PM

@6 DeepThought

somehow it has a Klingon captain and first mate* whose uniforms are totally aesthetically disjointed from the ship’s decor — I’d call shenanigans.

I dunno. For a race with as many Alpha Male issues as the Klingons, it might be enough to see a satisfying culture warrior in the captain’s chair, his hip-wader boot on the neck of a puny human crew. The Klingons have a natural, arrogant sense of superiority, hardly a whiff of nuance, and would perhaps not question their own lyin’ eyes when they see one of their own in command. What Klingon captain worth his blood pudding would hide in his ready room while underlings perform a make-believe, after all?

@ 1 DemetriosXHis philosophical goals, adopted mostly because he thinks he ought to in order to get in touch with his heritage, are in conflict with his emotional upbringing, his everyday life, his friends, and even reality. It will take him a long time to figure that out and adapt to it.
Well put, and I think those things are a fundamental part of growing up for everyone, and something I know I struggle with on a daily basis. (Not my culture, but my values and goals in conflict with everyday life.) In the end it’s what makes him such a rich character–he’s like a permanent teen/young adult trying to find himself in a weird world.

I’m really glad to hear I’m not the only one who hates Alexander. Worf is a horrendous father. And the wild wild west holonovels are the wooooorst.

@ 2 Eugene
Worf dates a lot compared to his friends, doesn’t he? I guess Picard dates that musician (AND NO ONE ELSE SHUT UP) and O’Brien has the shrew (though she didn’t really become that until DS9)… La Forge’s attempts are seriously sad… does anyone have a functional love life? Troi and Beverly repeatedly fall for the guest of the week but nothing stable.

@ 7 Lemnoc…the only appealing Klingon we see…
What, no love for the Duras sisters? I admit that when K’Ehleyr came on screen a very small, very bad part of me thought “Show us your tits!” Because that’s what Star Trek has taught me. I guess that shouldn’t go on a poster, though…

You’re brilliant! I kept thinking there was something more significant about the game; Riker even reminds us of it when he says the Ice Man is melting. I should have made the connection too, but my brain has stopped expecting clever things in TNG episodes. I’ll have to reset in time for season 3.

@9 Torie

Well, Data had a fully-functional love life…

11.lane arnold

Posted November 9, 2012 at 5:25 AM

—ha!—let’s see james bond pull off that entrance—this episode is top three for the second season–is it just me–or am i the only one who could watch those characters play poker all day–when gene had discussing sex and war with aliens in mind –originally—i wonder if he considered gambling with them too– he must have eventually –suzie is one of the most compelling guest stars on trek–too bad they didn’t use her more–i have never–in contrast to the original series—thought that any of the music was memorable or contributed much with small exceptions here and there——-It’s amazing what this show can do with women if it’s a) preparing to fridge them—excuse me?—that was probably her idea—for the success of the mission–she’s frikkin’ tough!—-resentment towards her because she’s responsible for Alexander?—that’s warf’s kid too—kids are kids—are you gonna hate elvis because of stupid lisa marie?—and really, suzie in this episode is just a fashion plate–the exchanges between her and worf allow her to stand out while we laugh as usual at worf’s stoicism—The bridge is full of Starfleet uniforms–wouldn’t you just assume that the two Klingons (well, one and a half Klingons) were prisoners put up to this?—again, we are human–and even being trek freaks–we still have no idea what it is like to be a klingon–well, some more than others i suppose, if you’re going to speak the lingo and wear a latex wrinkled forehead—but this is a risk, sure!—-perhaps the only way out besides blasting them–suzie is going to kick their wrinkled glutes–i’m sure of it!—-the holodeck janitor is probably a construct –just like the doctor from “voyager”—

12.DemetriosX

Posted November 9, 2012 at 7:01 AM

@9 Torie
Picard dated a musician? Was that the crewwoman who made him drink herbal tea? If not, then she’s another one. Plus She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.

Riker has a few Kirk-style flings with the guest of the week and the thing between him and Troi smolders along until Insurrection. Geordie, unfortunately, turns out to be a real creep when it comes to women.

13.Toryx

Posted November 9, 2012 at 9:02 AM

I never liked Alexander either. And I’d completely forgotten about the Old West Holodeck storylines. For good reason.

I’m with Lemnoc about K’Ehleyr being the only appealing Klingon female we encounter. The Duras sisters, for all their vaunted cleavage, were just evil and stupid, a combination that I’ve never found to be appealing.

Torie @ 9: I admit that when K’Ehleyr came on screen a very small, very bad part of me thought “Show us your tits!” Because that’s what Star Trek has taught me.

@ 11 Lane
By fridge her I mean kill her off so that the protagonist can feel pathos, I don’t mean stick her in the capsule. And by blame her for Alexander I don’t mean biologically, I mean narratively.

@ 12 DemetriosX
I don’t remember the herbal tea, but I think we’re talking about the same episode.

I don’t know if I would go so far as to call Geordi a creep. That word is reserved for Barclay.

@ 13 Toryx
Though now I’m remembering that holodeck episode where they play Robin Hood to rescue “Maid Vash” and suddenly Ye Ancient West seems much more appealing.

Yeah, you can guess what I think of the Duras sisters.

16.bobsandiego

Posted November 9, 2012 at 10:49 AM

to the point why did the Klingon’s fall for the ruse so easily. I don;t have a problem with that.
yes it is a bit of an easy out for the plot, but the real story had always been the relationship anyway.
These Klingons knew that they were at War with the Feddies. They knew taht 75 years had passes, and were not confronted with evidence that they had won the war. The most dangerous lie is the one you *want* to believe. The truth, an alliacne with the hated enemey, would have been rejected as it clashed with what they wanted from the ‘verse. A lie that they are the supreme victors with the hated feddies under their heels, that’s easily swallowed because it’s the expected natural order.

17.Lemnoc

Posted November 9, 2012 at 11:46 AM

@15 Torie

Well, Data does at some future point hook up with some Blonde in Engineering… (an engineer with a shine for Data, that’s pretty funny when you think about it). It lasted long enough that they explored “relationship issues.”

@ 17 Lemnoc
I’ve clearly blocked that out because I have no idea what you’re talking about.

@ 18 Eugene
EW did you make that dirty?! Shame on you! No such pun was intended, I was being sincere.

20.DemetriosX

Posted November 9, 2012 at 12:46 PM

@15/19 Torie
Yeah, Geordie gets into this thing with the hologram of Leah Brahms and then ultimately transfers everything he’s projected onto that over to the real thing. There’s another one where he has to read through some woman’s diaries (she was presumed dead and it was part of the investigation) and he kind of falls for her, then she turns out not to be dead after all and he starts macking on her and let’s her know he’s read all that stuff. Total creeper. As much as I hate him, Barclay’s just autistic.

Also the Robin Hood thing was Q, not the holodeck. The scary thing about Ye Ancient West is that they’re some of the better Alexander episodes. *shudder*

21.DemetriosX

Posted November 9, 2012 at 12:50 PM

Oh, also, yeah we are talking about the same episode. They “meet cute” when Picard can’t sleep and orders his usual. She’s all “Black tea! No wonder. Caffeine evil. Drink this.” Interesting what different people remember.

@ 20 DemetriosX
Who could forget Leah Brahms? I remember liking both of her episodes. If they’re going to do an episode where someone falls in love with a holocharacter, it’s going to be Geordi, right? I think the show was pretty brave to follow that up with when he meets the real deal and she’s married and it’s awkward but they both *gasp* are adults about it and everything! So overall I liked that arc.

With the creepy diary thing, he DOES think she’s dead at first so it’s not like he’s sniffing her underwear drawer while she’s in the shower. But then it turns out she’s alive, and it does get super creepy, so I’ll give you that. I feel like the writers just watched too much Weird Science.

Barclay… ugh I dunno. It’s one thing to pull up holo-Dick Feynman and get a schoolgirl crush that becomes seriously weird when you actually meet the guy; it’s another to plug in your coworkers.

23.DemetriosX

Posted November 9, 2012 at 3:15 PM

@22 Torie
Your memories may be a little rosy. As I recall it, he might not have gotten permabanned from a con for it, but he would have been taken aside and given a warning. I would wonder if it’s connected in some way to Hollywood’s general discomfort with non-white males as sexual beings, but this whole discussion was triggered by the realization that Worf was getting more lovin’ than the rest of the bridge crew combined.

Geordie is probably the least Blackalicious groover this side of Urkel; Tracy’s dad Mel had more Soul.

And Worf did have that lavendar-y musk thing going.

Gotta be factors.

25.bobsandiego

Posted November 9, 2012 at 4:55 PM

@24 Lemnoc
“@23 Geordie is probably the least Blackalicious groover this side of Urkel; Tracy’s dad Mel had more Soul.”
Are you telling me Geordie dates to the dulcet sounds of Don ‘No Soul’ Simmons?
(And am I the ONLY person on the board who’ll get my reference?)

26.Bluejay Young

Posted November 9, 2012 at 10:26 PM

“the only appealing Klingon we’ll ever see” — I don’t know about that. Azetbur was great, Kahlest was fine, and I find Kurn and K’Tal likeable. Gowron is okay, too, most of the time.

Other than that, I agree with your assessment of K’Ehleyr. When she was killed off, I lost much of whatever grudging respect I’d manage to develop for this series. I never minded Alexander though. He was just a kid, nothing like Wesley, who really does fit the “horrible horrible children” tag.

27.Ludon

Posted November 10, 2012 at 11:36 PM

The Klingons have got to have a few old radios or sub-space communications devices sitting around. The B plot reminds me of the Die Hard At The Airport movie. Communications from the airport buildings were cut and everyone went into a panic. No one stopped to think that those airplanes sitting around the terminal had radios which could be used to contact the aircraft in flight.

Did the Klingons think that the crew wouldn’t be willing to believe messages sent through proper channels? If not, then what made them think that the crew would be willing to believe a message being delivered by a Federation starship? I see a lost story opportunity here. What if that ship and its mission represented a threat to the stability of the current administration in the Empire and the Enterprise had been dispatched with the hope that the returning ship would be destroyed. Maybe the Empire saw this as a win-win-win situation. Stability in the Empire is maintained while the returning crew die noble deaths in battle and the Federation proves again it’s willingness to work with the Empire. Think of the extra kick in the later episodes if Duras had been on that ship. But then, the time they were away would have to be different. Well, it could have been worked out.

28.Lemnoc

Posted November 11, 2012 at 2:22 PM

@27 Ludon

I got the sense the Klingon high command was perfectly okay with that ship being destroyed, and—as you indicate—might have done it themselves with opportunity and minor provocation. For sure, K’Ehleyr is convinced it must be destroyed and is there in an advisory capacity. I don’t recall she makes a peep about repercussions or blowback if they, y’know, just follow her counsel.

If high command had any problems with the Feds handling the situation, they need not have even disclosed the existence of the T’Ong, just shrugged and said sorry when it arrived and completed its mission (the mission was always a little vague to me… a 75-year kamikaze run??)

In other words, I think you could read the “lost opportunity” exactly as you describe.

I do like your idea that Klingcicles had a less watered down ethos about war and conquest. Undoubtedly, these were ancestors and notables of the current dynasties. It would have been interesting to explore their violent Orthodoxy in the softer Reformed empire.

@ 26 Bluejay Young
There’s nothing wrong with Alexander himself; it’s watching Worf be a horrible father that sucks. And as a viewer I just don’t understand why, if they wanted to give someone a family, they would give a kid to Worf?! Though Data was supposed to be the Spock-like character, it’s Worf that’s caught between cultures and who has the most compelling arc. I was interested in his personal story, and then they kind of sidelined that to show off what a dick he is to his son and I’m supposed to be impressed?

@ 27 Ludon
Now I’m imagining the T’Ong going all mom-ish and asking, “Why didn’t you just pick up the phone and call?!”

30.Rat Bazturd

Posted December 24, 2018 at 9:59 PM

the bouncing! the bouncing! the bouncing!

when she’s purposely striding down the passageway, in the red unicolor unitard, the magnificent bouncing of the chesticles!! it is to die for.